AsiaNet 200636

UnionPay International Works with Industry Partners to Make Payments Easier for International Visitors to the Chinese Mainland -- More Users of International UnionPay-Powered E-Wallets Can Now Make Weixin QR Payments in the Chinese Mainland

SHANGHAI, Dec. 20, 2024 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/--On December 17, UnionPay International announced its new collaboration with Weixin Pay, which enables users of international UnionPay-powered wallets to scan Weixin Pay payment codes in the Chinese mainland. Eight wallets are now able to offer this feature, namely BoC Pay from Bank of China (Hong Kong), Octopus, PayMe by HSBC, and Tap & Go in Hong Kong SAR; Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking and K PLUS from KASIKORNBANK in Thailand; Naver Pay in South Korea; and ICBC Mobile Banking (ICBC Pay) in Malaysia. International visitors will thus have access to more mobile payment options during their time in the Chinese mainland.

With this partnership, once users link their physical UnionPay cards or activate digital UnionPay cards in the participating wallets, they will be able to pay by scanning Weixin Pay payment codes in the Chinese mainland, with their home currencies automatically converted to the RMB. In the future, Weixin QR payments will also be enabled for more UnionPay-powered wallets from Macao SAR, other Southeast Asia countries, the South Pacific, and more regions.

Since the launch of Project Excellence 2024 in March, UnionPay has actively played its pivotal role as a card scheme to promote open collaboration with industry partners and make payments easier for inbound visitors to the Chinese mainland. Starting in June, UnionPay App users were able to scan the various merchant-presented Weixin Pay codes and make payments. This new enablement with international wallets marks the latest milestone in the UnionPay - Weixin Pay collaboration to enhance payment interoperability.

This partnership reflects UnionPay's efforts to jointly drive connectivity with various players in the payment industry and accelerate the development of a sustainable business model. It provides international visitors to the Chinese mainland with more options and a better payment journey, further contributing to China's high-standard opening up. Back in 2018, UnionPay worked with Weixin Pay and WeChat Pay HK, a HKD-denominated e-wallet, to offer the cross-border payment solution, which supports cross-border consumption for Hong Kong residents at more than tens of millions of merchants in the Chinese mainland.

In recent years, as UnionPay continues to improve its localized offerings, an increasing number of residents outside the Chinese mainland now enjoy the convenient services brought by UnionPay's payment products. Outside the Chinese mainland, over 250 million UnionPay cards have been issued in 83 countries and regions, and more than 200 UnionPay-powered wallets have been launched in 36 countries and regions. These products can be used on UnionPay's acceptance network worldwide.

Source: UnionPay International